No One Wants Russia To Host the 2018 World Cup

In this file photo taken on Sunday, July 13, 2014, Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff , left, FIFA President Sepp Blatter, center, and Russian President Vladimir Putin are seen during the official ceremony of handover to Russia as the 2018 World Cup hosts, after the World Cup final soccer match between Germany and Argentina at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
((AP PHOTO/RIA-NOVOSTI, ALEXEI NIKOLSKY, PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE, FILE))

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Last Thursday, Malaysian Airlines Fight 17 was shot down, allegedly by the Donetsk People's Republic, a pro-Russian separatist group which currently controls much of eastern Ukraine. U.S. intelligence believes that Russia provided the separatists with missiles. Yet, even as evidence mounts implicating Russia in the MH17 shooting, no new economic sanctions have been issued. Instead, the global community is going after Russia's role as the host of the 2018 World Cup.

This comes just days after six players of the Donetsk soccer team refused to leave France after a match and board a plane back to Ukraine.

The Netherlands Football Association is also suggesting the 2018 World Cup could be moved. The vast majority of passengers onboard MH17 were Dutch. They issued this statement:

The Dutch football association is aware that a future World Cup in Russia stirs great emotion among all football lovers and the next of kin in the Netherlands. Standing still to remember our enormous loss is now the priority. The association believes it is more appropriate to conduct a discussion over a future World Cup in Russia at a later moment, once the investigation into the disaster has been completed."

The calls echo similar sentiments earlier this year to move or boycott the Sochi Winter Olympics after Moscow passed a controversial anti-gay law. While the world calls for World Cup 2018 to be moved, FIFA has not yet issued a statement on the matter. The Wire contacted FIFA for more information, and will update if we receive a reply. We have also reached out to a variety of FIFA sponsors to understand if they will participate in World Cup 2018, if it remains in Russia.

News reports are focusing on the Germanwings pilot's possible depression, following a familiar script in the wake of mass killings. But the evidence shows violence is extremely rare among the mentally ill.